Types of Questions in German: Yes/No, W-Questions and Alternatives

German questions follow three basic patterns. To ask whether something is true, start with the conjugated verb: Arbeitest du heute? To request specific information, start with a question word: Wann arbeitest du? To offer a choice, connect the alternatives with oder: Arbeitest du heute oder morgen?

Yes/no questions: start with the verb

A yes/no question asks whether a statement is true. In the standard pattern, the conjugated verb comes first, followed by the subject. This is the verb form that agrees with the subject: du arbeitest becomes arbeitest du?

Conjugated verb + subject + remaining information?

Wohnst du in Bremen? — Do you live in Bremen?
Ist der Laden geöffnet? — Is the shop open?
Haben Sie einen Termin? — Do you have an appointment?

German does not add an equivalent of English do or does to form these questions. The main verb itself moves to the front: Du wohnst hier. → Wohnst du hier?

A short answer can simply be ja or nein. You can also give a complete answer: Ja, ich wohne hier. — “Yes, I live here.” Keep the formal pronoun Sie capitalized even when it follows the verb.

Questions with two verb parts

With a modal verb, the modal comes first and the main infinitive closes the verb bracket. In the perfect tense, the auxiliary comes first and the past participle closes the bracket. With a separable verb, the detached prefix goes at the end of the bracket.

Only the conjugated part moves to the beginning. Compare Du kannst morgen kommen. and Kannst du morgen kommen? The infinitive kommen stays at the end.

W-questions: ask for specific information

W-questions ask about a person, place, time, reason or another missing detail. The question word or question phrase comes first; the conjugated verb comes second.

Question word or phrase + conjugated verb + subject + remaining information?

A question phrase can contain several words. In Um wie viel Uhr beginnt der Film? — “What time does the film start?” — the whole phrase um wie viel Uhr occupies the first position. “Verb second” does not mean “verb as the second word”.

The verb bracket also works in W-questions: Wann musst du gehen? — “When do you have to leave?”; Wo hast du geparkt? — “Where did you park?”

Wer, wen and wem: who does what?

The form of “who” depends on its role in the sentence. Use wer for the subject, wen for an accusative object and wem for a dative object.

When wer is the subject, do not add another subject: Wer kommt morgen? — “Who is coming tomorrow?” In this basic pattern, use a third-person singular verb, even if the answer might name several people.

Keep a required preposition with the question word: Mit wem sprichst du? — “Who are you talking to?” Here mit requires the dative form wem.

Alternative questions: offer a choice with oder

An alternative question asks the listener to choose between options. It often begins like a yes/no question, but the expected answer names an option rather than simply confirming or denying the whole question.

Möchtest du Wasser oder Saft? — Would you like water or juice?
Saft, bitte. — Juice, please.

You can offer two complete alternatives: Fährst du mit dem Bus oder gehst du zu Fuß? — “Are you taking the bus or walking?” When both alternatives share words, those words need not be repeated: Treffen wir uns am Dienstag oder am Donnerstag? — “Are we meeting on Tuesday or Thursday?”

In a typical spoken choice question, the voice rises on the first option and falls on the last. Context matters: Hast du einen Pass oder einen Personalausweis? can also ask whether you have either document. In that reading, ja is a suitable answer. The presence of oder alone does not guarantee a choice question.

Quick reference: common mistakes

Choose the question type first. Use a verb-first question to ask whether something is true, a W-question to request a missing detail, and an alternative question to offer a choice. Then check the verb bracket and the case of the question word.